damned_institute | Day 46: Lunch

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Day 46: Lunch

The mere fact that she'd been susceptible to whatever hold the Institute had had on her yesterday was sufficient to leave Ayumu both upset and angry - no, not angry, downright furious, both at herself and whoever was responsible for that. But there was also the fact that because of it, she'd lost out on an entire day of work, and in several ways had ruined some of what she'd done already. That little conversation with Himura the day before, for instance, was something she'd sincerely prefer not to remember if she'd had any choice in the matter.

Unless the man was a complete moron, which, unfortunately, was one thing she couldn't believe of him, he had to have realized just who her brother was. After all the effort to keep that fact quiet (not exactly a secret, but certainly not advertised; half the Shinsengumi probably never even realized it because there was no reason to) she'd gone and chatted about it with him. Told him all about it, practically painted a bright target around a weakness that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

She'd spent the shift in the Sun Room pretending to sleep, while in truth forcing herself into calm. After years of practice she could shunt away the useless and distracting emotions, focusing only on what was important and needed to be at the forefront of her mind, and by the time the intercom signaled the lunch period she was feeling considerably calmer. The time to silently observe others had, as well, alerted her to something she probably should have noticed earlier: Mello was back. Would her previous objective be reinstated now? He seemed to have far less of a bulletin presence this time, so perhaps not. Still, though, it bore investigating.

None of her thoughts were visible, of course, as she moved through the line, examining the lunch selection somewhat dubiously. Now with the benefit of Yuuko's memories she might recognize the food, but she certainly didn't share the enthusiasm for it that her imaginary self apparently had. Ayumu skipped past that part and settled for the salad bar and some bread, then positioned herself in a place where she could watch both the door and the rest of the room, setting her journal open in front of herself as though planning to write something. There was far too much that she'd missed, too much work to do now.

[for Okita]

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Brainiac 5 was a little taken aback by the look the girl directed at him, but did his best to keep his own frown to a minimum. She was new and likely just striking out at those around her as well as the nurses, he reminded himself. That was all.

"I'm Brainiac 5," he said, turning his attention to his lunch and picking over his salad. "I assume you're from Earth, the twenty-first century?"

It was Asuka's turn to be completely thrown off guard. Her eyes bulged and her pink lips puckered into a tight ball to complete the stunned expression.

.... Really?

Really?

Brainiac? Couldn't he have come up with something with more... oomf?

Why was she the only normal person around here? That really wasn't fair. She had even given this man the benefit of the doubt. She really had! And now... ugh. Talk about delusions of grandeur.

".......... Mmmmkaay..." How to approach this? "Do you have mental health issues I need to know about before we continue this....... amusing conversation? Like, should I make sure not to make any sudden movements in front of you, lest you freak out and fling your own shit at everyone?" Actually, that would be fun to watch.

While he was becoming more and more resigned to having people react strangely to his name - to be expected considering the time period they were in - he'd never gotten anything quite so... over the top as that expression. And then she jumped to the incorrect conclusion that he was insane, and... had she really just implied that?

His head jerked up and Brainiac 5 stared in obvious shock at Asuka, his lunch momentarily forgotten.

"What? That's disgusting!" he snapped, his mouth twisting at the thought of doing anything like that and his tone implying Asuka was disgusting as well for even thinking it. "Why on Earth would you assume something like that from my name?! If anything, you seem to be the one with the mental health issues."

Oh God, the boy's reaction was like a narcotic high. Too long this day had she been the only one frayed and frazzled by her companions' comments. It felt good to rub this young man the wrong way, even if his disgust implied something of her. Not like Brainiac's censure meant anything to her.

Asuka continued to eat her slice of pizza unperturbed, her unused hand cradling the side of her head as she leaned over the table, eyes watching the blond passively. "Well, all I've met today are crazies and morons, how can ya blame me, right?" Besides, you haven't convinced me otherwise yet..." She reminded, finishing her mouthful and using a napkin to wipe up any grease still clinging to her mouth. "So... since you've obviously separated yourself from earth and the twenty-first century, does that mean you're an alien from the future?" Thank God for those literary analysis classes. She could have added the past, but she had never heard of a person who created a pseudo persona from the past. Not as fun she suspected.

"Did you ever stop to think that some people may assume that your own claims are simply delusions?" Brainiac 5 shot back. "After all, considering our location, it wouldn't be much of a stretch for people to imagine you as being unbalanced when you claim not to be. Yet I don't think you'd like it if someone insisted you prove yourself to them as well."

He took a bite of his salad, wrinkling his nose at the grease from her own meal. At least he took care of his body, even if it was completely different from what he was used to.

"And yes, I'm not normally human and from a more advanced time period. Congratulations on your brilliant deduction, since I as much as told you that earlier."

The redhead laughed softly, surprised how barbed his responses were. This kid did not take shit from anyone. It was rather refreshing. She usually only had the three stooges, Shinji and his two bumbling friends, to kick around, which was hardly a workout. "Well, I'm not the one claiming to be an alien... Maybe I need to change my story though. Being a little girl isn't risque enough in this institute..."

Putting down what remained of her pizza crust on her plate, she slid it to the side so she could lean her arms properly on the table, far too fascinated by this guy's story instead of eating.

Her lips tightened a bit at his last jab, but she wasn't going to let it interfere with her fun yet. "Really? So like... flying cars and all that jazz? How far away from Earth is your planet, Mr. Brainiac 5? What galaxy is it in? Do you reproduce asexually or are there two sexes on your planet? Or more?" Once she got out, the pilot was totally turning all of this into a best-selling memoir.

"One, I'm not simply claiming that I'm not human," Brainiac 5 said, setting down his cutlery in order to start ticking points off his fingers. "It's a fact. Two, I'm not the only person who was not originally human; there are a number of alien lifeforms similarly imprisoned here. And three, claiming to be an alien from the future isn't even the most bizarre claim in this place, so why would you think I'm doing it for attention, of all things?"

He directed a smug smile at Asuka as he reached for his water and took a sip. "And in answer to your other questions," he continued smoothly. "I'm from far enough in your future that a variety of different technologies are available, Colu is far enough away from Earth that you won't discover it for some time but it's still within our galaxy, and I see no reason to discuss my species' biology with you.

"Are you done now, or should I start interrogating you on your world?"

"Hmmm you're right..." Sighing, she turned her gaze on her lap, brushing off a few crumbs the garlic bead had left. "I should always take what people say at face value..." Maybe there was no lying on this boy's planet either. Ha, good one, Asuka!

That smirk certainly wasn't what she expected. He had been fun to tease because of his continual and fervent objections. Now, he didn't seem to care if she prodded. Looked like play time was over. "Psh, and here I was genuinely interested..."

But the conversation had turn to her so that wasn't something to be disappointed about. "If you want..." She shrugged nonchalantly, but it was easy enough to tell that she reveled in being the center of attention. "It's not as amusing as yours though..."

Brainiac 5 rolled his eyes, the smile disappearing into an irritated frown. "That's not what I said," he pointed out. "Surely you've noticed that everyone here is told that what they believe to be true is a lie? That people come from entirely different backgrounds and time lines and worlds? If it's possible for you to come from one world where major event A happened, and someone to come from one where it didn't, or was instead event X, then why can't people come from different planets or times?"

Even he hadn't been this close-minded about things when he'd arrived, and Brainiac 5 was willing to (grudgingly) admit that he'd made several mistakes himself in those first few days. But at least he hadn't rejected the entire idea of different dimensions, planets, and time lines!

However, it did seem that asking Asuka about her own world had gotten a good response. She was clearly eager to talk about herself, which might also give Brainiac 5 the chance to convince her that she should at least consider that he had a point. After all, despite how he felt about Asuka, the last thing he wanted was someone else experiencing the same dangers he had.

"Because... it's just... silly!" Her final conclusion didn't sound as solid as she had liked. In fact, it sounded down right like denial and desperation.

There were things in Asuka's world that weren't human. But monsters and nightmares existed in everyone's "world". And monsters were not intelligent. To believe that there were things not human with the same intelligence as she and perhaps with a soul, the second child didn't want to accept that.

It completely changed everything and she didn't like change. The redhead's life worked because she had the control, nothing pushed her. And this new shit invited variables into her world she wasn't sure she could handle.

".... So then... say I believe you right now--which I don't--then... what purpose do we all serve here, coming from different backgrounds, races, time, all that jazz, for the institute?" She had asked Kaworu the same question, but she wanted more than one person's opinion, especially from someone outside their circle of allies. What answer would an alien from the future give her?

"It's silly," he said flatly. "That's your reason." It was blatantly obvious from his tone exactly what Brainiac 5 thought of the excuse. "I shouldn't have to point out exactly how species-centric that belief is."

He leaned back a little in his chair and started picking over his lunch again, though it was more from boredom than real hunger. At Asuka's question he glanced up, studying her with complete seriousness. It was a question he'd asked himself more than once, but so far the answer - assuming there was one, which could equally be doubtful - eluded him.

"I've been trapped here for over a week now," he began. "And since I've arrived, I've seen nothing that implies there is a greater purpose for us beyond making us face challenges, get hurt and sometimes killed, all for the amusement of the people in charge here. At this point, it's questionable that there even is another reason." He hesitated for a moment and added, "I'm sorry."

Asuka ignored this kid's criticism of her, well, feeble attempt at a defense. She knew what it was thank you very much, but it didn't mean it wasn't true. Magically over night, her world that only held humans as the superior race had now become infected with aliens and furries or whatever the hell clouded the minds of these institutionalized freaks. Sorry if she found that quite the coincidence now that she was in a mental hospital.

Brainiac's latter comments were more useful to the second child. Nothing of surprise or disappointment appeared on her solemn face as she spent more time watching the last of her water spin in her glass than listening. His answers weren't anything new after her powwow with Shinji and Kaworu, but the redhead wasn't going to settle with one boy's opinion. Especially if she thought Kaworu may have a screw loose. Then again she was pretty sure blondie wasn't anymore stable.

"Eh..." She shrugged reflexively as she stared at the bubbles in her water glass. "... about what I expected really... ... Shhhhit... " She hadn't expected salvation, but.... something hopeful maybe. Something she could use to get out. "Oh well..." Her blue stare softened with contemplation. "... I'll think of something..."

'I'll think of something'? Brainiac 5 narrowly avoided rolling his eyes again at that. Instead he settled for taking a sip of his own drink and directing an utterly bored, almost condescending look at Asuka.

"I'm sure you will," he said, obviously sarcastic. "The fact that myself and several other genius level intellects, not to mention others with experience in escaping traps such as this, have been trapped here for a week or more is irrelevant. You, a simple human girl from an ancient and no doubt technologically primitive past, will think of something."

He set the glass down and added, with false brightness; "Well, that sets my mind at ease."

Asuka was done with this boy and this stupid subject. She made it abundantly clear she was done when her fist slammed down on the hard table, rattling their plates and glasses as her burning blue eyes bore a hole into Brainiac's face. She stood up from her seat so she could tower over this smug little bastard (doing her best to ignore the fact this was the second time in the spans of a few hours that she had been pushed this far by mere children. It was embarrassing to say the least).

"Uhh except for the fact I still don't and will never believe that you, a blond little twig that I could certainly break over my leg, are some super alien mastermind. The idea is downright laughable, and I've grown bored listening to your delusions! I hope you OD on your meds, little boy..." With that outburst, Asuka turned to leave, her long red hair perfectly tossed behind her back as she stormed off with a team of nurses trailing behind her with concern.

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Day 46: Lunch

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FFFF I THOUGHT I REPLIED TO THIS SORRY T_T